Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Peripheral Intravenous Cannula Insertion and Use in the Emergency Department; an Intervention Study.
The objective was to examine cannulation practice and effectiveness of a multimodal intervention to reduce peripheral intravenous cannula (PIVC) insertion in emergency department (ED) patients. ⋯ The intervention reduced PIVC placement in the ED and increased the percentage of PIVCs placed that were used. This program benefits patients and health services alike, with potential for large cost savings.
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Each year over one million patients with acute heart failure (AHF) present to a United States emergency department (ED). The vast majority are hospitalized for further management. The length of stay and high postdischarge event rate in this cohort have changed little over the past decade. ⋯ This network has demonstrated, through organized collaboration between cardiology and emergency medicine, that many of the hurdles in AHF research can be overcome. The development of a network that supports the collaboration of acute care and HF researchers, combined with the availability of federally funded infrastructure, will facilitate more efficient conduct of both explanatory and pragmatic trials in AHF. Yet many important questions remain, and in this document our group of emergency medicine and cardiology investigators have identified four high-priority research areas.
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Emergency department (ED) acuity is the general level of patient illness, urgency for clinical intervention, and intensity of resource use in an ED environment. The relative strength of commonly used measures of ED acuity is not well understood. ⋯ Emergency Severity Index had the strongest association with PHAC followed by CMI and annual ED volume. Academic status captures variability outside of that explained by ESI, CMI, annual ED volume, percentage of Medicare patients, or patients per attending per hour. All measures combined only explained only 42.6% of PHAC variation.
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Observational Study
Hot off the Press: Embedded Clinical Decision Support in Electronic Health Record Decreases Use of High-cost Imaging in the Emergency Department: EmbED study.
This longitudinal before/after study of embedded clinical decision rules assessed the effects of clinical decision support on use of common imaging studies. Among high users, rates of computed tomograhy (CT) scan of the brain and CT of the cervical spine were reduced after implementation of embedded clinical decision instruments, while in low users, rates increased. This article summarizes the manuscript and the Skeptics Guide to Emergency Medicine podcast, as well as the ensuing social media/online discussion.
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Observational Study
Improved Survival for Rural Trauma Patients Transported by Helicopter to a Verified Trauma Center: A Propensity Score Analysis.
Recent studies using advanced statistical methods to control for confounders have demonstrated an association between helicopter transport (HT) versus ground ambulance transport (GT) in terms of improved survival for adult trauma patients. The aim of this study was to apply a methodologically vigorous approach to determine if HT is associated with a survival benefit for when trauma patients are transported to a verified trauma center in a rural setting. ⋯ In a rural setting, we demonstrated improved survival associated with HT compared to GT for scene transportation of adult trauma patients to a verified Level II trauma center using an advanced methodologic approach, which included adjustment for transport distance. The implication of survival benefit to rural population is discussed. We recommend larger studies with multiple trauma systems need to be repeated using similar study methodology to substantiate our findings.